


The things they never told you. (Stop reading and start heading for exit now.)

by youngjusticewriter



Series: My PJ plotbunnies. [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Child Soldiers, Gen, I’ll add more characters later, author has stopped trying to being reasonable about how many WIPS she has, inspired by ISTLWISMM with some spoilers sprinkled in but not really a part of the series, yes I was listening to PJ and Heather’s musicals as I wrote this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 16:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20510339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngjusticewriter/pseuds/youngjusticewriter
Summary: There are things they never tell you unlike how your scent becomes stronger once you know what you are - what one your parents is - and how monsters want to murder you in nasty ways for something you have no control over.





	The things they never told you. (Stop reading and start heading for exit now.)

There are things they never tell you unlike how your scent becomes stronger once you know what you are - what one your parents is - and how monsters want to murder you in nasty ways for something you have no control over. 

One of these things only happens years after you learn what you are. It’s sometimes thinking about becoming a vegetarian like your best and longest friend, Grover, is. Seems like not a big thing compared to being monster chow, right? 

It is. 

You like cheeseburgers but the smell of meat cooking dries the water in your mouth. You’ve witnessed too many burials. See when you’re a half-blood your corpse isn’t sent back to your mortal family if you’re a camper. No, if there’s anything left of your body it’s covered in a burial shroud which is made by either your half-siblings if you’ve been claimed and have them or by your friends and fellow Hermes’ cabin mates. 

Once the shroud is made and, again, if you have a body left, there’s a drachma placed on your tongue to buy you a passage on Charon’s boat so you don’t have to wait who knows how many hundreds of years you normally would if you didn’t have that bribery. Then your burial shroud covered corpse is burnt. 

There were a lot of burial shrouds burnt after the Battle of New York. 

The smell of cooking meat - any meat - is no longer tempting, no longer mouth-watering. It’s nauseating but you smile and lie to your mom and Paul. It takes several trips of going to McDonalds where mom’s sharp eyes are heavy on you for her to pick up on what’s going on. After that, whenever your family plans to go out to eat (Tuesdays they order takeout) fast food your mom orders your meal some time beforehand and picks it up. You thank your mom of course but after having it happen several times your mouth twists. You don’t like your mom having to go out of her way for you especially with how she’s been fighting with her editor lately but your stomach isn’t twisting in knots at the thought of eating, your mood doesn’t darken at the memories of the war and it’s aftermath (so many burials that smelled - you were afraid you were never going to stop smelling it - and so many with empty shrouds that you had hoped you wouldn’t have to burn but they hadn’t been found) therefore threatening to ruin the happy family moment. 

So yeah, that’s just one the things about being a half-blood you’ll have to deal with that no one warned you about.


End file.
